Electromagnetic tracking method and system
First Claim
1. An electromagnetic tracking system, comprising:
- a coil arrangement comprising a first coil configured to generate a first magnetic field and a second coil configured to generate a second magnetic field; and
a drive unit configured to provide a first drive current to the first coil and to provide a second drive current to the second coil,wherein the first drive current and the second drive current are at about the same frequency, wherein the frequency is below 60 Hz,wherein the first magnentic field and the second magnetic field are generated out of phase, and wherein the first drive current comprises a sine wave current and the second drive current comprises a cosine wave current approximately 90 degrees out of phase with the drive current.
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Abstract
Provided is an electromagnetic tracking system, comprising a coil arrangement comprising a first coil configured to generate a first magnetic field and a second coil configured to generate a second magnetic field and a drive unit configured to provide a first drive current to the first coil and to provide a second drive current to the second coil, wherein the first drive current and the second drive current are at about the same frequency, wherein the frequency is below 60 Hz, and wherein the first electromagnetic field and the second magnetic field are generated out of phase. Also provided is a method of electromagnetic tracking comprising generating a first electromagnetic field at a frequency, generating a second electromagnetic field at about the frequency, wherein the frequency is below 60 Hz and wherein the first electromagnetic field and the second magnetic field are generated out of phase, sensing the first electromagnetic field and the second electromagnetic field and processing a waveform indicative of a combination of the sensed first electromagnetic field and the sensed second electromagnetic field.
48 Citations
16 Claims
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1. An electromagnetic tracking system, comprising:
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a coil arrangement comprising a first coil configured to generate a first magnetic field and a second coil configured to generate a second magnetic field; and a drive unit configured to provide a first drive current to the first coil and to provide a second drive current to the second coil, wherein the first drive current and the second drive current are at about the same frequency, wherein the frequency is below 60 Hz,wherein the first magnentic field and the second magnetic field are generated out of phase, and wherein the first drive current comprises a sine wave current and the second drive current comprises a cosine wave current approximately 90 degrees out of phase with the drive current. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for electromagnetic tracking, comprising:
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driving a first current across a first coil to generate a first magnetic field; driving a second current across a second coil to generate a second magnetic field, wherein the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field are at about the same frequency, wherein the frequency is below 60 Hz, and wherein the first magnetic field is out of phase with the second magnetic field; sensing the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field with at least one electromagnetic receiver; and processing the sensed first magnetic field and the sensed second magnetic field, wherein processing the sensed first magnetic field and the sensed second magnetic field comprises determining a position and/or orientation of the first coil and/or the second coil relative to the at least one electromagnetic receivers. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16)
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15. A method for electromagnetic tracking, comprising:
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driving a first current across a first coil to generate a first magnetic field; driving a second current across a second coil to generate a second magnetic field, wherein the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field are at about the same frequency, wherein the frequency is below 60 Hz, and wherein the first magnetic field is out of phase with the second magnetic field; sensing the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field with at least one electromagnetic receiver, wherein sensing the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field comprises measuring mutual inductance between the first coil and the at least one electromagnetic receiver, and measuring mutual inductance between the second coil and the at least one electromagnetic receiver; and processing the sensed first magnetic field and the sensed second magnetic field.
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Specification